d^^b 지킴이 일기 : For our common good

[yongboo]

For our common good.
May, 3rd.& 4th day, 2009 ; sunday & monday

Everytime I have an appoinment with foreigner to guide our cultural assets,
I used to be upset and nervous because I want to make them understood
Korean culture well and easilly even with my short English words.

It was on sunday that I had a telephone from one of 궁궐지킴이 volunteers
whom I know. I was on duty at 서오릉 tombs area.
She told me that she would take four Americans and her fammily to this place
and asked me to tell them the stories about 서오릉 tombs area in English.

What confused me was how I could tell it. The first thing I did was to make
memorandom which is written in English with my hand until they arrived.

Welcome to this place !  We have Eight graves here.
All of them are royal famillies of 조선 dynasty, the former Kingdom of Korea.
The Kings, his consorts and concubines were burried in each tombs.
The total size of tombs area is 420 acers. In the 15th century they bagan
to commit royal burrial here.

These tombs area will be inscribed on the list of UNESCO's world cultural
heritage in July this year. Let's take a look at first one
where we can get a closer view than the others.

Looking at map board.

We are now here. It may take long time to look around all tombs area.
I will guide you some of them. We will walk along the yellow coloured roads.
The red and blue roads are for walking course. You can see the beatiful trees
such as pine trees, maple trees and oak trees on the road side.

When we meet each burrial site,
I will exlpain you some of the histories on the spot.

On the each site, I commented the stories shortly of their own.
Among four Americans one was African American, two are second generation of
Korean parents and one was adopted when she was a child. They don't speak
Korean at all, neither hear. They got job as a native English teacher in Busan since this year.

During these consecutive hollidays, they were visiting their relatives in 일산 Ilsan
near where 서오릉 tombs area is located. On the way to take a look at here, I let
one of them read the Obama's Inauguration Address which I wrote in my hand writting.

........***....***.........***..........

" The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross
Domestic Products, but on the reach of our prosperity ; on our abillity to extend
opportunity to every willing heart- not out of charity, but because it is
the surest route to our common good.

우리 경제의 성공은 GDP 가 아니라 번영의 수혜자가 확대되고, 모든 사람에게 기회를 주는
능력에 좌우돼 왔습니다. 그것이야말로 공동의 선을 향한 가장 확실한 길입니다.

........   ..........     ..........

America. In the face of our common dangers,in this winter of our hardship,
let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more
the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children
that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back
nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us,
we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generation.

미국은 현재 위험에 직면해 있고, 고난의 겨울을 맞고 있는 이때 위대한 말을 기억합시다.
희망과 선으로 무장하고 용감하게 차가운 물살을 이겨냅시다. 우리가 시험 받았지만
여정을 끝내지 않았다는 사실을 후대에 보여쥐야 합니다. 우리가 뒤돌아서지 않았고
동요하지 않았음을 보여줍시다. 두 눈 부릅뜨고 하나님의 은혜로 자유라는 위대한 선물을
우리 후대에게 안전하게 물려줘야 합니다. "

....***.....***......***   ........

Yes, yes I know that they came to get a job to their native country as a native teacher.
Let it be said by our our children's children that they came back to teach their parent's country.
Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.
They let me think of what the common good is. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more
the icy currents, and endure what storms may come.

Go !  go for it,
For our common good.    - To be continued -